Ross Sea Ice Cover Decay Watch

Seasonal: September through April

The sea ice cover in the Ross Sea is particularly interesting in the
melt season. In the Arctic ocean, the ice cover generally decays
from the edge inward. In much of the Antarctic, there is a more or
less steady decay of the ice cover across the whole region (see the animations
on
http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/seaice/Historical.html
for November through February each year). In the Ross Sea, the ice
cover decays from the north (the warm side, remember this is the
southern hemisphere) and from the coast outwards. While this
happens in certain other parts of the Antarctic as well, it is
especially strong in the Ross Sea.